~Time Skip: A Few Days Later~

Y/N's POV
It's been a few days since I moved in with the skeletons and Frisk. Every night Sans and I argue over who sleeps where—sometimes I win, sometimes he does.

I haven't told anyone about my soul or Chara. Frisk maybe suspects that she's gotten in touch with me, but if they do, they haven't said anything.

I sighed as I walked through the snow. I loved my new life with the monsters. Papyrus was always nice and his cooking was horrendous, but I taught him more every day. Frisk was great company. Sans was the punniest person I had ever met. Yet...it felt like something was missing. I didn't miss my above-life. I hated that life. It was something else that I wanted, that I missed...

"A-are y-y-you l-lost?"

I shook my head to clear my thoughts and looked up. In front of me was an orange dinosaur-looking monster. I hadn't met her yet.

"No, but who are you?"

"I-I-I-I'm Alphys. N-nice to m-meet you."

"I'm Y/N. I haven't seen you around Snowdin before. Do you live elsewhere in the Underground?"

"Y-Yeah, I l-l-live in Hotland. B-by the w-w-way, do you k-know Sans?"

"Yeah. What of it?"

"I w-was j-just c-c-curious. So y-you're the one t-that S-Sans has a c-crush on."

I coughed violently. "Wh-what?" I sputtered. My face was as red as a cherry. "Wh-where did you get th-that idea?"

She pushed up her glasses, giggling like she was part of an inside joke. "I-it's kinda o-o-obvious."

What?! What was she thinking?! Sans, having a crush on...me?! No! That's not possible! That's...that's nuts.

"Where are you heading?" I asked, to get my mind off of what just happened. She replied, "Oh, I-I-I was h-heading to Waterfall. J-just p-p-passing through."

I nodded. "Alright. Just wondering."

She went past me. I kept walking in the same direction I was going. I didn't really have a destination in mind, just as long as I ended back up at the bros' house.

The shadow followed close to my heels. Dark, darker, yet darker. The clouds hung above me like curtains. Grave thoughts clung to me like mist. My eyes found the snow below me. I fell to my knees. A blackness crawled on my skin. Subconsciously, I shed my coat and placed it in front of me, so I could freeze faster. Voices echoed in my mind. Stupid. Worthless. Freak. Nothing.

Mercy and sacrifice? Ha. What a joke. What good is there to mercy? What good is there to sacrifice for? The world is only filled with darkness, and always will be.

"Hey, kiddo, you okay?"

I blinked out of my thoughts, and turned my head to see Sans, hands in pockets. His 'eyes' were full of worry.

"Yeah, I'm fine, why'd you ask?" I responded monotonously.

He gave me a look. "Look, kid, Imma be honest with ya. You look like crap right now. You're not wearing your coat, and since you're in a short-sleeved shirt, your skin is white and turning into blue. Your eyes are red and puffy from crying. And I can tell that your health is slowly going down. So, would you like to tell me anything, Y/N, or would you prefer to stay silent?"

I sniffled, and swiveled my head away. "I...I...I don't know. Something's wrong with me. It's just...dark."

I stared at the snow again. Then I felt a pair of arms wrap around my waist. I glanced behind me to see Sans hugging me. "It's okay," he said quietly. "I'm here."

His embrace was oddly comforting. Then I thought of the conversation you Alphys and I had, and I immediately turned red.

Sans's POV
I hugged Y/N. I felt like she just needed the comfort of it. She relaxed at first, then suddenly stiffened. As I opened my 'eyes,' I too realized our position and a light blue-cyan spread across my cheekbones.

"Uh..." I said, letting go, and standing up. Well, this is awkward. "Would you...um...like to...head to Grillby's?"

Although her head was turned away, I could feel Y/N's gentle smile. "Yeah," she murmured. "I'd like that very much."

I offered her my boney hand, and helped her to her feet. I also handed her her jacket. She put it on and let out a sigh. "Feels so good to be warm."

"Then you're gonna like it at Grillby's," I chuckled. She laughed, knowing full well that Grillby was a fire monster.

I took her hand, ignoring my 'flaming' cheekbones, and started sauntering towards the bar/restaurant.

We entered and sat at our usual spots at the bar. "Ey, Grillby," I said. "Two fries and a bottle of ketchup, please."

He nodded at me, and quickly passed us our order. Y/N swallowed her fries faster than I can drink my ketchup. She took mine and ate those, too. I can't say that I'm surprised. She's done this both times we've been here, and she even eats Papyrus's spaghetti. I mean, it's getting better, but it still doesn't taste as good as it probably should be. Y/N never gives an explanation for her large appetite—she just eats. I don't know when I'll ask her why she's like this, but I will. Eventually.

Speaking of her being weird, what did she mean by "something's wrong with me" and "it's just dark"? Y/N's always a ball of sunshine and patience and kindness. I've never seen her cry, until today. Nothing about her is dark. It would've been obvious, from the very beginning.

Right?

Well, what about when I first met her? In between all the puns, she did say that a. no one liked her puns, b. she felt alone in the universe, and c. she was always withdrawn from humanity. Y/N was talking without limits, because she didn't realize what she was talking about until I asked about her past, to which she immediately shut down. Was she...hiding something?

"Hey, Sans."

I instantly came out of my thoughts to Y/N's voice. "Yeah?"

"Do you know how to sing?"

I reddened (bluenned?). "Um...not well. And if you're asking, certainly not in front of people. I would embarrass myself."

She swatted me gently with her hand. "Come on, you can't be that bad."

I turned away from her. "Of course I'm that bad. I've barely sung before, and maybe the once I've ever done it, I sounded terrible."

"Okay, okay. I was just wondering if you were as bad as I am," she said sheepishly. I looked back and stared at her. Recalling the moments from my dreams and her fantastic singing, I said incredulously, "As bad as you? As bad as you?! Are you kidding me? You're freaking amazing!"

Y/N blushed and looked at her hands. "I'm not that good," she mumbled. Slightly frustrated by this behavior, I took her hands in my own—ignoring the climbing feeling in my gut—and told her plainly, "Yes, you are. Whoever said that you aren't is either a huge jerk or jealous. Go for it. You're amazing."

Her face grew redder by the second. "R-really? You...you think that I'm amazing?" I nodded, entirely sure of my answer. She eyed me for a moment, then stuttered out, "Th-thanks, S-Sans. You'd be the first."

I smiled genuinely at her, finally feeling the blush crawling onto my face. I dropped her hands, and managed to spot disappointment on Y/N's face before it was quickly replaced by a grin.

We left Grillby's soon after. I didn't notice that we were holding hands all the way home until we attempted to go through the front door. I tried to pretend that I didn't care about it, but my cerulean skull said otherwise. I removed it as fast as I could when we walked in together.

"SANS! Y/N!" I heard my brother say as I shut the door. Sure enough, when I turned, he was sitting on the couch, in his pajamas. "IT IS TEN THIRTY. WHAT WERE YOU DOING AT SUCH A LATE HOUR? FRISK IS ALREADY IN BED!"

Then he squinted at me. "WAIT...DID YOU FINALLY ADMIT TO Y/N TH—"

"Nope," I cut him off. "I did not. And I will not, either." I glanced at Y/N, and she was looking at me curiously. She didn't say anything, though. Thank God for that.

"BUT, SANS, DON'T YOU WANT TO KNOW IF SHE—"

"Papyrus!" I glared at him. "Not right now. And I can live in the dark for the time being. I will another time, I promise. Come on, I'll read you your bedtime story."

He sighed, but gave in. "ALRIGHT, BROTHER. I WON'T ARGUE WITH YOU, IF YOU ARE CERTAIN ABOUT THIS. JUST KEEP YOUR PROMISE, OKAY?"

"I swear that I'll keep my promise," I promised. "Now let's get you to bed."

Pappy bounded up the stairs like a little kid. Before I could follow him, Y/N grabbed onto the sleeve of my jacket. "Wait. What did he mean by that?" she inquired. I mentally cursed myself and answered, "He didn't mean anything, Y/N. He's just tired. Take the bed tonight. I'll see you in the morning."

She hesitated, then nodded and let go. "Alright." She hugged me tightly. I was glad Y/N couldn't see me, because I embodied a blue lightbulb of blushing mess. She let go and headed up the stairs. Unfortunately, she looked back and saw my face. She giggled slightly, then went into my room. After a minute of composing myself, I walked up to read my lil' bro his story before bed.